San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

Research was recently presented at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Among the results were that generally the ratio between those having breast reconstruction after mastectomy was somewhat stable... 42% of women younger than 50 and 17% of women 50 and older underwent immediate breast reconstruction over a 10 year period. Notably there remain barriers but as a group we will continue educating our patients regarding the potential benefits of breast reconstruction.. Best wishes for the New Year!

Fall is in the air

I saw one of my favorite patients today who had recently completed her reconstruction; I always know that when I see her it's usually been too long since I have registered something on the blog! seeing our patients remind us it is a special privilege to be able to help our breast cancer patients through reconstruction, one person at a time...

Walk for the Cure

Members of our office and patients participated in the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk last week and once again it was a important event bringing patients, family, and caregivers alike together for a single cause.....

Lipofilling of the breast following lumpectomy

There continues to be more press about the technique of harvesting fat through liposuction from one area of the body and filling a lumpectomy defect of the breast in reconstruction, as evidenced by the article seen on the right column in WebMD... the concern is the longterm effects of fat in the remaining breast tissue whether or not that it affects surveillance, mammography or stimulates any cells from growing...

The Boston Channel

There was an article from our group posted this month on the Boston Channel (see below link) related to breast reconstruction using abdominal tissue while preserving muscle...
There are several options for breast reconstruction, and each may be better suited for each individual patient....

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/bethisrael/28472497/detail.html

Making the day

Few things make a breast reconstructive surgeon's day more than the realization of a patient when a breast reconstruction has restored their sense of being whole....
Thanks very much to the individual who posted a comment on "Light of the End of the Tunnel"- it is also a tribute to our entire staff who help us take the best care of our patients!

Avoiding radiation

I saw a patient this past week who was deciding between having a lumpectomy with radiation versus undergoing a complete mastectomy... Though everything depends on the pathology of the tumor, etc, and one's breast surgeon, indeed there are those patients who are able to have a mastectomy and avoid radiation altogether...

In reconstructive breast surgery, plastic surgeons ceratainly find the aspect of prior irradiation an important detail when planning a reconstruction

Light at the end of the tunnel

One of my favorite patients had her nipple-areola tattooing this past week and her husband had remarked to me what a difference breast reconstruction had made in her life... She was a patient who had, from the beginning, several decisions to make relating to chemotherapy and ultimately planning reconstruction. Breast reconstruction, to coordinate with planned therapy, is ultimately secondary to certainly cancer treatment, but a close second at that!

Partial mastectomy reconstruction

I just read about a recent development in Oregon, where the legislature at the end of May, voted to have insurance companies cover reconstruction of partial mastectomy patients, or patients having lumpectomies. Previously, only full or total mastectomies were covered in the state. This is a significant occurrence, as patients elsewhere may also may be able to have breast reconstruction, even in the cases of partial mastectomy.

Unilateral versus bilateral reconstruction timing

We saw a patient this past week who had had bilateral breast reconstruction using abdominal tissue.... only at two different settings with mastectomies at different times... on one side a tissue expander was placed and the skin expanded over time following a mastectomy. At a later time, the other mastectomy was performed with immediate reconstruction using abdominal tissue along with removal of the original tissue expander followed by breast reconstruction using abdominal tissue...

Not to add too many varibles, but it is important that with bilateral reconstruction with abdominal tissue (one side immediate, the other side delayed), that the "outside" skin incisions, etc will look different...

Evening of Gratitude program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

This past week there was a special event at the medical center honoring cancer patients and their caregivers. One of our breast reconstruction patients made a generous donation to the medical center on my behalf. A very thoughtful, generous, and nice token of appreciation, and there are many folks at the hospital to also thank who make it possible to take the best care of our patients!

Caffeine and breast reconstructive flaps

I had a patient recently who was a 2-3 cup a day coffee consumer who asked about caffeine intake after surgery... indeed, there may be a situation where your plastic and reconstructive surgeon asks patients to decrease or even temporarily discontinue caffeine intake for a period of time after surgery to optimize wound healing... just a thought to perhaps be able to begin the taper-off period to avoid caffeine withdrawal headaches afterwards!

This past week

I would like to thank a patient of mine who I saw this week who had undergone bilateral mastectomy with implant based reconstruction, and, at this point, bilateral nipple reconstruction... on course for her nipple-areolar tattooing. Her comment was that breast reconstruction, including the nipple-areola reconstruction, was more than simply just that.... it really completed a person's entire persona and feeling as a whole person.....

Breast Cancer Coordinated Care Conference in Washington DC

The BC3 conference is going on in washington DC currently and there is an interesting section on partial breast reconstruction. This field was first popularized in Europe, and is currently increasing in frequency at centers in the US... Essentially, the technique revolves around reconstruction of a lumpectomy defect by a plastic and reconstructive surgeon following the excision of a breast mass by rearrangement of the breast tissue in order to preserve the breast shape as much as possible...

happy new year

I recently read an article by the Independent (from the United Kingdom) relaying that at the Royal Marsden, 43 per cent of patients undergo reconstruction after a mastectomy - more than double the national UK average, according to last year's figures. It seems that although the number of patients who have had a mastectomy who have undergone reconstruction has increased in recent years, the number continues to be low; in this country, the number is likely no greater than 33%